The Road to El Dorado
The Road to El Dorado is a 2000 American animated adventure musical buddy slapstick comedy film directed by Eric Bibo Bergeron and Don Paul, with additional sequences by Will Finn and David Silverman, starring Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Rosie Pérez, and produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The soundtrack features songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell. The movie begins in 16th-century Seville, Spain, and tells of two swindlers named Tulio and Miguel who, when playing dice, win a map that supposedly shows the location of El Dorado, the legendary city of gold in the New World. However, when it is discovered that they are using loaded dice they attempt to escape, only to end up as stowaways on Hernán Cortés fleet to conquer Mexico. They are discovered, but manage to escape in a boat with Cortés' prize war horse and eventually discover the hidden city of El Dorado, where they are mistaken for gods. The Road to El Dorado grossed 76.4 million dollars worldwide on a 95 million dollars budget, making it DreamWorks Animation's only box office bomb. However, the film has managed to gain a cult classic status online over the years. It is paired with Chicken Run, Joseph: King of Dreams, The Stone of Cold Fire, and Galaxy Quest. Plot In Spain 1519, two con artists, Tulio and Miguel, win a map to the legendary City of Gold, El Dorado, in a rigged gambling match. After their con is discovered, the two evade capture and hide aboard one of the ships to be led by Hernán Cortés to the New World. During the trip, they are caught as stowaways and imprisoned, but manage to break free and take a rowboat with the help of Cortés' horse, Altivo. Later, they land at an unknown shore at the edge of Mexico, and Miguel begins to recognize landmarks from the map, leading them to a totem marker near a large waterfall. They see a native woman being chased by guards, but when the guards see Tulio and Miguel riding Altivo as depicted on the totem, they treat the two as gods, and along with the woman, escort them under the falls and into El Dorado, a city truly made of gold. They are brought to the city's elders, kind-hearted Chief Tannabok and wicked high priest Tzekel-Kan. Tzekel-Kan, seeking to seize the city from Tannabok, insist the two demonstrate their powers. Tulio and Miguel bicker between themselves, while a nearby volcano begins to erupt. When Tulio yells at Miguel to stop pestering him, the volcano suddenly stops erupting, and the citizens take this as proof of their godhood. Celebrations are held, and the two are showered with gifts of gold, and given luxurious quarters to stay, along with charge of the woman, Chel. Chel is aware the two are conning the people but promises to remain quiet if they take her with them they leave the city. Tulio convinces Tannabok to build them a vessel that will allow them to leave the city with all the gifts they've been given, which will take a few days. Chel convinces Miguel to explore the city, which allows her to get romantically closer to Tulio. Miguel comes to appreciate the peaceful life the citizens seem to enjoy, and joins in with some of their activities. When Tzekel-Kan sees Miguel playing a ball game with children, he insist that the gods demonstrate their prowess against the city's best players in the same game. Tulio and Miguel are far outmatched, but Chel is able to substitute the ball with an armadillo named Bibo, allowing them to win; the two spare the ritual of sacrificing the other team, much to the crowd's approval. During the match, Miguel received a small cut, which Tzekel-Kan sees and realizes the two are not gods. Tzekel-Kan conjures a giant stone jaguar to chase them through the city. Tulio and Miguel manage to outwit the stone jaguar, causing both it and Tzekel-Kan to fall into a giant whirlpool, thought to be the entrance to Xibalba, the spirit world. When Tzekel-Kan comes to, he finds himself facing Cortés and his men, and offers to lead them to El Dorado. With the boat completed, Miguel states his intention to stay in the city. Tulio and Chel board the boat, loaded with the gifts, when they see smoke on the horizon and realize Cortés is close. Tulio concocts a plan to use the boat to ram rock structures under the waterfall to collapse the main entrance to El Dorado, preventing Cortés from finding it, but requires the citizens to pull over a statue in the boat's wake to give it enough speed to ram the rocks. As the statue starts to fall, Tulio has difficulty in preparing the boat's sails, and Miguel, riding Altivo, jumps onto the boat to unfurl the sails, assuring the boat clears the statue in time. Tulio's plan works, though the boat and their gifts are lost. Tulio, Miguel, Chel and Altivo end up near the totem and hide as Cortés' men Tzekel-Kan arrive. When Tzekel-Kan finds the entrance blocked, Cortés has him taken prisoner as they return to their boats. Tulio and Miguel, though disappointed they lost their treasure, takes off in a different direction for a new adventure with Chel, unaware that Altivo still wears the golden horseshoes he was outfitted with in the city. Voice cast * Kevin Kline as Tulio * Kenneth Branagh as Miguel * Rosie Perez as Chel * Jim Cummings as Hernán Cortés * Armand Assante as Tzekel-Kan * Edward James Olmos as Chief Tannabok * Tobin Bell as Zaragoza * Frank Welker as Altivo * Duncan Marjoribanks as Acolyte * Elijah Chiang as Kid 1 * Cyrus Shaki-Khan as Kid 2 * Elton John as the Narrator * ADR group: Jack Angel - Hernán Cortés's Guards, Cody Dorkin, Bill Farmer - Hernán Cortés Guards, Phil Proctor - Hernán Cortés Guards, Jennifer Darling - Spain Woman #1, Patrick Pinney - Hernán Cortés Guards, Bobby Edner, Anne Lockhart, Rodger Bumpass - Hernán Cortés Guards, Sherry Lynn - Spain Woman #3, Ashley Edner, Anne Lockhart, Mickie McGowan - Spain Woman #2, Jan Rabson, Aaron Spann, Michelle Ruff, Jonathan Nichols, Bob Bergen - Hernán Cortés Guards & Steve Bulen Songs * El Dorado (performed by Elton John) * The Trail We Blaze (performed by Elton John) * It's Tough to Be a God (performed by Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh) * Without Question (performed by Elton John) * Friends Never Say Goodbye (performed by Elton John) * Someday Out of the Blue (Theme from El Dorado) (performed by Elton John) * Without Question (end title) (performed by Elton John) International releases For information about international dubs and releases, The Road to El Dorado/International. Category:2000 films Category:2000s American animated films Category:American musical films Category:Films produced by Brook Breton Category:Films produced Bonne Radford Category:Films produced by Bonne Radford Category:Films directed by Don Paul Category:Films directed by Eric Bergeron Category:Film scores by Hans Zimmer Category:Film scores by John Powell Category:DreamWorks Pictures films Category:Half-Disney Feature Animation Category:Non-Disney animated films Category:DreamWorks Animation Category:DVD Category:VHS